Gelatiamo

Passion driven

Maria Coassin knew she would build her own business one day. With 200 years of history behind her family's bakery, Panificio Coassin, she was driven. As the only family member to leave Italy, it would also be a continued connection to her family. The sixth of seven children (all brothers), she saw them give up their young lives to the bakery-long, early hours. Gelato was the way to go.

In the '60s and '70s in Italy, young men would leave the land to find luck elsewhere. Friends would leave each March-October to "do gelato," returning with a new Mercedes Benz after every season. "I grew up with gelato; it's like Starbucks here, on every corner. The eastern part of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions are famous for their strong gelato-making traditions."

She fell in love with an American in the Air Force. "I thought I'd move to a big city, maybe Rome. Instead I moved to America with my then husband in 1992." She had high hopes for California, but Lompoc fell short of expectations. They lived there 1-1/2 years; she worked at McDonald's 17 months. After leaving the Air Force, her husband's work would take them to either Atlanta or Seattle; they flipped a quarter: Seattle won.

Knowing she wanted to open a gelateria, she researched. "I knew gelato had come to America briefly in the '80s. It wasn't really good. To do it right, you must educate yourself, have good equipment and ingredients; it can be expensive. Gelato is like bread-making. Attention to detail is absolute: time, temperature, humidity come into play in bread making while a perfectly-balanced recipe is a must in gelato making. Unlike other things, you don't make adjustments to get the taste right. The recipe has to be right. It's about perfect equilibrium between solids, liquids and air. If you alter the recipe, the equation doesn't work. After moving to Seattle, I returned to Italy and took months to learn the trade, taking classes, and finding a gelato master who became my mentor, Pino Scaringelle. He taught me the difference between making gelato and creating recipes. Each flavor has its own recipe." Pino came to Seattle when Maria opened Gelatiamo in 1996, then six months later, then a few years later. "He is still a world traveler and has been teaching gelato for 50 years," says Maria. "Creating recipes, not making gelato is what separated me from others from the get go."

Her father was her inspiration. He ran the family bakery and started a precision mechanical components company to supply rivets and nuts to the many knives and scissors companies in their home town of Maniago. He was president of the business and the bakery associations. He and Pino taught her old-school ways: what to do, how to fix problems, rely on herself. Her father came to Seattle during her first year to help. He would make cookies, pastries, and sweet rolls, then decided to make panettone. "I'd say, 'we're not a bakery,' but he'd do a weekly batch of 3-4. The week before Christmas, he got it right. It's the same recipe we use now, and people love it." They make it 2-3 times a week during the holidays, 100 at a time. "We can't do more, because it would stretch out the time it rises and wouldn't be perfect. We work long hours to do it, but it's special to me because I am doing the same thing at the same time as my family in Italy. We're nine hours apart, so when I start at night, they are starting at 4 a.m. One year we changed equipment, and things weren't working. I called my brother for help. Now if questions arise, my staff will say 'Call Dr. Panettone.'"

Successful now, Maria has learned many lessons. "I was naïve, I didn't speak English well, didn't know anyone in Seattle, everything cost 10 times more than it should. I saw the space on TV when tiles fell off the building. What I saw was the perfect retail location: windows on two sides, two entrances, a southwest exposure. I put in Venetian glass light fixtures and marble flooring. In 1996, I called 3^rd and Union '3^rd and hell'-I was picking up syringes outside. Scaffolding was to come down in October, but stayed up until June. My shop stuck out like a sore thumb. People thought it was too fancy and they didn't know gelato. They thought it was cream cheese for bagels, or made from gelatin. The weather was cooler than I realized. It took four years to break even. Now it is a fantastic location."

Pastries are all from family recipes made in the house where Maria and her father were born. Gelatiamo caters (recently doing 2000 bites for Collections Café at Chihuly Garden and Glass), and makes cookies for Metropolitan Market and several coffee shops and restaurants. "It's a year-round business. We have a staff of over 20."

Maria teaches, working with Tom and Colleen Graves of Equipment and Concepts in San Clemente, California, four times a year. "Gelato is an artisanal product; you can't cut corners. I stress the do's and don'ts about the business. The focus is on understanding ingredients, fundamentals of recipe development, and the importance of perfectly-balanced recipes. We talk about equipment, set-up, real estate, business plan-it's two packed days."

For Maria, gelato is about the experience. "You should feel like you're strolling down the street in Amalfi when you taste it." Expanding hasn't been a consideration, but she will consider it next year. "We did a complete facelift in May 2015 on the store and I'm so happy with it. Things are just the way I want them."

Take a trip to Maria's Italy when you sample gelato, pastry, or simply the elevated service you get when you order coffee. You'll be transported.

Gelatiamo
1400 Third Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
206-467-9563

www.gelatiamo.com

Connie Adams/December 2015